06 January 2014

Student Opinion of Blended and Pathway Learning

A very literal representation.

What's Blended Learning?

I have a computer lab, so I created a course in Canvas and put assignments with video descriptions that students could watch whenever they needed to. Students would work at their own pace but I was available to help out in person during class.

Choose your own adventure.

What's Pathway Learning?

With the flexibility of the blended course through Canvas, I created multiple modules that students could choose from, essentially making their own path through my class.

Survey Results: Blended Learning

99% of students prefer blended learning to the traditional setting, according to the anonymous survey. Here's the actual breakdown:

40% Loved it/way better than regular class

47% Liked it/better than regular class

12% It was OK/slightly better than regular class

0% Didn't really like it/worse than regular class

0% Hated it/way worse than regular class

0% Absolutely no opinion

I gave the students a place to write any feedback they wanted. This quote demonstrates the biggest reason I wanted to try blended learning, because it gives them more time to learn by doing:

This class is so fun! Its not like you are sitting and watching a teacher say boring stuff! You're actually doing it yourself!

Next is very good feedback regarding the implementation. Not every assignment had a tutorial video attached, and some assignments were described in more detail than others.

he needs to explain hands on and show us or make a video. It would also be helpful if he in the description of the project would be more precise, not just make this

Apparently it simply works better for some students than others:

Sometimes even after watching the video it is still hard or confusing to do the assignments.

I liked the videos a lot and how they explained how to do the assignments...

Pathway learning didn't start until the second term. First term was very directed; every student was basically working on the same assignment/project and got a taste of every subject in the class. Second term, having tasted a little of each subject, they picked which subjects to explore further.

i like on first term you show us all of the stuff and on second term you have us pick what we like.

Here's one of my fears of pathway learning:

...I am a horrible decision maker and can't decide what modules to use.

Another problem with pathway learning is that you have to create a lot more content than normal, which means that some modules or assignments aren't as fleshed out as they should be:

I didn't like pathway learning as much because some of the stuff I wasn't that great at and if I had a video and I would know expectations just a little more then. I think I could have learned a little more instead of figuring it out on my own.

Pathway learning makes it hard for students to know what they're supposed to be doing and where they stand grade-wise:

[it] was a good idea but it was easier to waste time cause we never really new where were supposed to be.

Some of pathway learning's problems could be the LMS. I chose not to use Edmodo partly because it's very linear, as in it basically showed the most recent assignments at the top, whereas Canvas let me organize my modules however I wanted. But Canvas has its own limitations. I still haven't figured out how to set it up to make it easier for students to know what they have and haven't done:

sorry but I prefer to be told what to do for school projects, and when to turn it in so I can stay on track. When you give me to many options I often end up behind because i can't decide what and when to finish and I can't keep track of what I have done.

Sometimes it was hard to see where you were and compared to where you should have been with how many modules being completed.

Of course, one of the main reasons to try pathway learning is summed up in the following:

A lot of the assignments were fun but some of them sucked.

Reflection
Basically, if I have a computer lab, I will implement blended learning. Students can get way more done during the limited class time, plus it gets me out of that pesky classroom management stuff I'm so terrible at. If I don't have a computer lab, I'll probably consider the flipped model or beg for a class set of devices that students can watch videos on. To improve it in the future, I need to be more thorough and more specific in assignment expectations.

As for pathway learning, despite the fairly positive outcome in the survey, my gut feeling is that it's not worth it. I really like the idea of offering choice but too many students choose based solely on what looks easiest, not on what looks most interesting. A better way to offer students choice without losing them to indecision would be to basically set up the class to follow a single 'recommended' path, with other options available for students who actually care.